The technology disclosed in this specification relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a computer program, which perform user authentication at the start of use of the information processing device, for example.
Currently, various types of information processing devices have been developed and come into widespread use. Examples of such information processing devices include multi-function terminals such as personal computers (PCs), tablets, and smartphones, and head-mounted displays that are worn on the user's head or face. Many of these information processing devices are intended for regular use by users in their daily lives and, as a result, these information processing devices store various information such as secret information. Accordingly, greater importance is attached to security control, such as checking user's authenticity at the start of use of an information processing device.
In the field of information processing, authentication methods based on input of personal identification numbers or passwords are in widespread use. For example, when starting a transaction or logging in to a system, a user enters a string of letters that serves as a personal identification number or a password with a ten key or a touch panel. However, if the input operation is exposed to the outside world, there is a risk of the inputted information being discovered by a third person who is behind or near the user. Further, people tend to forget a personal identification number or password that is made up of a meaningless string of random letters, and if the personal identification number or password is written down somewhere, there is a risk that such information may leak.
There exists a technology which moves or changes the arrangement of numeric keys in order to prevent a personal identification number from being peeped at from behind the user, or prevent a personal identification number from being discovered from the user's movement/posture (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-318186). However, the proposed process proves cumbersome since it is necessary for the user to find out the location of a numeric key the user wants to enter anew immediately after updating the arrangement of numeric keys.
Authentication systems that verify the identity of a user on the basis of biometric information such as the iris or retina of the user are widely used in this field. However, in order to read information about biological features such as the iris or retina from the user, expensive devices specifically designed for that purpose are necessary. Incorporating this type of authentication device into information apparatuses intended for regular use by the user in their daily lives results in many disadvantages in terms of cost. In addition, devices for reading the iris, retina, or the like have hardly any uses other than authentication, and once authentication is established, there will be no chance whatsoever of these devices being utilized for day-to-day execution of applications.